Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What are your thoughts on buying wild caught animals? What if Captive bred are hard to find?

Obviously we dont want to buy wild caught animals that are endangered but what about non endangered species?
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I think one of the biggest problems has to do with parasites and acclimation. A captive bred animal probably has a much better chance of survival, as it is more likely to be free of parasites, and is used to the conditions in captivity. Also, I think it's better in the long run, as the prices for the captive bred animals will eventually come down so you can reliably and easily increase your collection. Plus, personally I feel kind of bad for getting an animal that has been pulled out of the wild and has had tons of stress put on it just so someone can get a better price. And, last note here, sometimes the wild animal never quite tames if it's the sort of animal that is able to be tamed, and can remain feral and hard to manage.

CB is the only way to go. The previous poster made many good points. Stress, parasites would be my main reasons too. But for me my main reason to buy CB is so that we don't put undue pressure on WC populations. Also in most cases its far cheaper in time and money to go CB.
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Vichris

Vichris Variables